Morgan Justice, PhD, MA
“My research aims to improve health equity for people living with substance use and chronic pain by understanding how social health impacts health outcomes.”
Morgan Justice, PhD, MA
Senior Collaborative Scientist, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute
Biography
I am a health services researcher focused on designing and evaluating real-world solutions that improve care delivery and patient outcomes. My work sits at the intersection of pragmatic clinical trials and implementation science, with a commitment to ensuring that evidence not only works in theory, but also in everyday clinical practice. I specialize in advancing equitable, high-quality care in complex and high-impact areas including lung cancer screening, opioid use disorder, pain management, and mental health.
As a mixed methods researcher, I draw on both quantitative and qualitative approaches to understand not just whether interventions work, but also how, why, and for whom they are most effective. I have experience leading and collaborating on studies spanning randomized pragmatic trials, observational analyses, hybrid effectiveness-implementation designs, and community-engaged research.
My research is grounded in partnership with health systems, clinicians, and patients, with a focus on scalability, sustainability, and policy relevance. Ultimately, my goal is to generate actionable evidence that reduces disparities, strengthens care delivery systems, and improves the health and well-being of diverse populations.
I hold a PhD in health systems and policy from the Oregon Health & Sciences University and a Master of Arts in sociology and a graduate certificate in public health biostatistics from Georgia State University.
RESEARCH INTERESTS AND EXPERIENCE
Recent Publications
DeBar LL, Wellman RD, Justice M, Avins AL, Beyrouty M, Eng CM, Herman PM, Nielsen A, Pressman A, Stone KL, Teets RY, Cook AJ Acupuncture for Chronic Low Back Pain in Older Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial 2025 Sep 2;8(9):e2531348. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.31348. Epub 2025-09-02. PubMed
Justice M, Piccorelli A, Avins AL, Cook AJ, Eng CM, Nielsen A, Pressman A, Stone KL, Teets RY, Wellman R, DeBar LL Baseline sample characteristics for the BackInAction pragmatic trial of acupuncture for chronic low back pain in older adults 2025 Aug;155:107981. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2025.107981. Epub 2025-06-06. PubMed
DeBar LL, Mayhew M, Wellman RD, Balderson BH, Dickerson JF, Elder CR, Justice M, Keefe FJ, McMullen CK, Owen-Smith AA, Rini C, Von Korff M, Waring S, Yarava A, Shen Z, Thompson RE, Clark AE, Casper TC, Cook AJ Telehealth and Online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-Based Treatments for High-Impact Chronic Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial 2025 Jul 23 doi: 10.1001/jama.2025.11178. Epub 2025-07-23. PubMed
Teets RY, Nielsen A, Mah D, Beyrouty M, Handel MJ, Justice M, Jyung H, Eng CM, DeBar LL Recruitment and Retention for an Acupuncture Trial in an Underrepresented 65 and Older Population With Chronic Low Back Pain 2025 Jan;14:27536130251340921. doi: 10.1177/27536130251340921. Epub 2025-05-09. PubMed
Zigler CK, Adeyemi O, Boyd AD, Braciszewski JM, Cheville A, Cuthel AM, Dailey DL, Del Fiol G, Ezenwa MO, Faurot KR, Justice M, Ho PM, Lawrence K, Marsolo K, Patil CL, Paek H, Richesson RL, Staman KL, Schlaeger JM, O'Brien EC Collecting patient-reported outcome measures in the electronic health record: Lessons from the NIH pragmatic trials Collaboratory 2024 Feb;137:107426. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2023.107426. Epub 2023-12-29. PubMed
Research
Acupuncture safe and effective for chronic low back pain in older adults
NIH-funded study finds that acupuncture improves pain, physical functioning.
Research
Remote programs effective for chronic pain, study finds
Telehealth and online cognitive behavioral therapy could expand treatment options for chronic pain in rural areas.
Research
HEAL responds to double crisis: Opioids and COVID-19
Health care is increasingly online—KPWHRI is studying telehealth options for opioid use disorder and chronic pain.
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